Date visited 10 April 2023
Did the second visit for the trip yesterday, visiting Il Vittoriale degli Italiani, which is an estate looking out over Lake Garda in Northern Italy, which is now operated as a museum/tourist attraction.There are two naval exhibits here:1. The WW1 Motor Torpedo Boat MAS-96, which has been immaculately preserved, and is presented in a purpose-built boathouse.2. The bow of the Italian protected cruiser Puglia, originally laid down in 1893. There is about a 100ft section of the bow there, which also includes the bridge superstructure, the two guns mounted on the foc'sle, and the two guns mounted in the bridge wings. The foredeck is well presented, with the anchoring equipment all restored in intricate detail. Inside the bow section, there is a collection of ship models - mainly Italian cruisers, although access into that area is limited. Given how few of her contemporaries have survived (only Olympia and Aurora are really in the same league), this is an important artefact, and it is great to see what is left of her in such good condition. Only minor complaint is that she is difficult to photograph - when I was on her she was generally covered with tourists (maybe going on Easter Monday wasn't such a flash idea), and a lot of trees have grown up around her making it difficult to photograph her from a distance.It is worth going to Lake Garda in any case - it is such a nice area, and I'd recommend visiting this museum while you are there.
